NEWS IN BRIEF

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 March 1917, Page 8

NEWS IN BRIEF

Crabs can see and swell, but eaiiuofc Lear. /

The dusting of the books in the library of the Bouse of Lords cowls .£SO a year.

Gold coin loses 1 per cent of it* weight in fifty years' use, but silver loses the same .percentage in ten years ornly.

Statistics prove that nearly twothirds of all the letters carried by tlio postal services of the world are written, sent to, and read by .Englishspeaking people.

Lord Kothschild, if he had had Ilia choice when a boy, would probably have devoted himself solely to science. His multifarious." duties have interfered with this ambition, but for aI2 that he is one of our great authorities on zoology.

During the siege of Ladysmith, eggs fetched .'lss a dozen, a small fowl 18s Gd, a pumpkin 12s, a small marrow ss, a tin of jam l'h> 6d, a tin of milk 7s (id, a box of sardines 3s, and tobacco was 10s per lb. A, case of whisky was rallied foi"CHS. The Himalayas have been seen 221 miles away. An M.l', who becomes bankrupt loses his seat. The sea round any desert island rarely visited by man and far distant from any mainland always teems with fish.

No human head was impressed on coins until after the death of Alexander the Great. All images before that time were of doilies. Owing to the enlistment of settlers and hunters, elephants have increased, in Rhodesia, and reappeared m din. triotfi. where they had long been unknown, In the tropics sea-shell windows may bo seen in the old ehurehes. Manila alone uses about live million kapas Rhells oauli year for windows. Ihe largest sized .shells are about three inches square. A remarkable case of longevity is repoijted from Westineath, whew Anne Hpatty died at the age of 108. Deceased had a marvellous memory, never wore glasses., and up to a short time since could read large type news-

payers. An ordiuary piano contains' a. imK

of wire at ring. In peace time a first-class army band earns 4:20 a week. Field-Marshal Lord French started his career on the deck of a man-of-war, abandoned it for the infantry, and finally entered the cavalry branch. Mr. .Kurd's motor company, as the result of making a standardised popular ear, also made for itself, in the year ended July 31, li)I6", a profit of 00,000,000 dollars, or nearly £12,, 000, UUO. ' Nearly all animals are good swimmers, and take to the water naturally. The polar bear, who passes half lm» time in the water, swimming and diving, is the best. The British Consul-General at San Francisco reports that the hop crop in California is now estimated at 122,000 bales, in Oregon at 1)0,000 to 100,000 bales, and in Washington at 35,000 bales. The piano in carved amboyna and

gilt case by m-oaclwooa, maae ior Queen Victoria in March, IS-U. and used up to the time of her death, is included in a fW booming tyile at Gloucester Terrace. A single oyster in one season will produce one million young oyaters. Thirty-eight fish in ninety minutev angling is the record up to date in canal fishing, which is so popular among the troops in Fiance. Final returns of the general elections for the Diet of Finland show that the Socialists hold 10:! seats out of the 200. Twenty-four members of the new Diet are women, A scientist declares that the splitting of raindrops, in falling through the ascending air currents, which are characteristic of thunderstorms, is the source of the lightning. At one of. the yards on the Tyne there is a crane that could lift an express locomotive off the Tyne highlevel bridge, while some of the tools for the boring and lining of projectiles weigh 21 tons. During the last six months 21,000 merchant ships have passed through the Sea Patrol, and of these only 21 have been lost or were seriously damaged by the enemy; the patrol also destroyed several enemy submarines and surface vessels. Fundy Hay, in Nova Scotia, has a tide of GSi't, the highest in the world. Greece has 350,000 acres i" vines, one-fifth of which is in currant grapes. The Irish Sea averages 21 Oft in depth, the English Channel only 110 ft All the Church training colleges for men arc to be closed for the period of the war, with the exception of lhdtersea College, the number of stu'defcits having been reduced from 1700 to. N"me cubic inches of water will bocome, frozen ten cubic inches of ice. Kac'h female haddock produces anythin-- up to 800,000 eggs each season. The nation that has the best teeth is tlie Irish, because they are not big meat-eaters, and they do not go in

so much fur sweets, while their food is generally of a kind that requires "it good deal of mastication. Ontario tobacco fanners grow seven million pounds of the soothing weed a year, and the rapid expansion during the last few years has necessitated the appointment of tobacco experts thoroughly familiar with all branches of the industry. The Isle of Man was formerly subject to Norway, afterwards to Scotland. It was conquered by Henry IV. of England, and given to the Earl of Northumberland with the title of king, 13-11. Afer various changes it was annexed to the Crowjn of Kiigland on being purchased by the Duke of Athol for £70.000 in the year 1760. Miss Olga Ne.ther.sole, the famous actrews, say.: that her first appearance was in some amateur theatricals before an audience of inmates of Colney Hatch! Just as she began her first words .she found her cye.< fixed by those of a beautiful niad woman. "It wa's touch and go." she told me, "'whsthere she broke down utterly. For many seconds I was unable to speak, but at last, by sheer force of will, the spell was broken and the situation saved." Laughter and tears, according to a doctor, are two forms' of the same mechanism- -a human safety valve to prevent the results of emotion from injuring the body. When a pedestriaiu slips on a banana peel, and just as lie is, about to tumble, recovers his equilibrium, the onlookers by laughing secure relief from the integration to run to his: rescue. If he falls and hurts himself, the onlookers run tu his aid, thereby consuming the motor integration —and hence there is: no laughter. As a result of the exhibition for a week at Kingston Town Hall of the historic football which the East .Surrey Regiment dribbled up to the German, trendies on the start of the "big push", on July Ist, a sum of iiy-l lis. 5d has been realised for the regiment'si comforts fuMd. At the beginning of the war the price of carbolic acid in Japan was, very high, but it ha;; dropped nearly 80 per cent recently. It is said that this drop was due to a large increase in the supply, American imports from July to May amounting to about 400,0001 b. The Dowager-Empress of Russia found the greatest pleasure in the early days, of her married life in playing with children, as also did her late husband. 'The Czar Alexander ill and his Empress were at the disposal of any of their young relatives who happened to be staying with them and wanted a, romp. By his nephews and 'nieces, the former was. always called '"Uncle Sasha," and one of his delights was to challenge half a dozen or more of them to pull him to the ground. In this task they never succeeded', for he was a man of immense strength. ' .